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On Thursday (14/07), the Congress published the approved Amendment to the Constitution that establishes a state of emergency in the country to enable the creation of a series of social measures. As provided for in the approved text, the PEC provides until the end of this year:
- The Auxílio Brasil will be increased from R$ 400 to R$ 600 per month. 1,6 million new families are expected to be added to the program
- Self-employed truck drivers will receive a R$ 1.000 “voucher”
- The Auxílio-Gás will be increased from R$ 53 to the value of a cylinder every two months, around R$ 112,60
- The Federal Government will compensate the states expenses with free transport for the elderly
- Taxi drivers registered until May 31st, 2022, will receive a benefit
- The program Alimenta Brasil will transfer R$ 500 million for the purchase of food produced by family farmers and distribution to food insecure families
- R$ 3,8 billion will be transferred through tax credits to maintain the competitiveness of ethanol over gasoline.
Express Approval
The approval of the PEC in Congress, especially in the Federal Chamber, had an express process. Federal Deputy Arthur Lira, Federal Chamber President and supporter of Jair Bolsonaro, used internal maneuvers and changed rules to speed up the process.
Polemic Behind the State of Emergency
To enable the creation of new social benefits, the text allowed the declaration of a state of emergency in the country. This occurs because the Elections Law prohibits the creation of new social benefits in an election year. The legislation only authorizes the payment of aids whose budget was already authorized in the year prior to the election, which is the case of the gas voucher. So, the Government’s strategy to make the new benefits viable was to declare a state of emergency. According to the Government, this state of emergency is a consequence of “the extraordinary and unpredictable rise in the prices of oil, fuel and its derivatives and the resulting social impacts”.
The Opposition
Although contrary to the mechanism that authorizes the government to declare a “state of emergency” in the country in order to create and pay benefits within three months of the election, the opposition parliamentarians voted to approve the amendment.
